BERRYVILLE, Ark. – Bob Stonehill will take the reigns of one of IDPA’s three national championship events, the prestigious 2015 Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship, according to an announcement made today by officials with the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) and Smith & Wesson.

Stonehill will oversee the event in his roll as match director. Because of the prominence of the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship, now in its 18th consecutive year, as well as its place as one of the premier events in all the shooting sports, the job of overseeing the match is viewed among the most important in competitive pistol shooting.

“Smith & Wesson is proud of our 18 year history of hosting the Indoor Nationals. Over the years we have helped kick off each shooting season, launched a third national championship with the Smith & Wesson Back Up Gun Nationals and made major IDPA events an important focus for Team Smith & Wesson shooters,” said Paul Pluff of Smith & Wesson.

“We’re very pleased to have the 2015 Indoor Nationals headed by an experienced and highly regarded member of the IDPA community. Bob Stonehill has been an integral part of our championship events here at Smith & Wesson and I cannot think of a better person to help us kick off our 18th Indoor Nationals.”

A former law enforcement professional with over 30 years as a firearms and tactics instructor, Stonehill has spent the past 20 plus years as a competitive shooter and has worked closely with IDPA and Smith & Wesson to put on the IDPA Indoor Nationals. He also worked with the S&W team to develop the first ever Smith & Wesson IDPA Back Up Gun Nationals in 2013, serving as Assistant Match Director for both the 2013 and 2104 matches. A regular at New England area matches, Stonehill volunteers at many state and regional top tier matches and has served on the match staff of the IDPA U.S. Nationals.

“It is a great honor to be handed responsibility for such an important match and I deeply appreciate the support and confidence both IDPA and Smith & Wesson have shown in selecting me to head the 2015 Indoor Nationals,” said Stonehill.

The Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship serves as the official start of the IDPA season. The 2015 match will take place February 26-28 and draws upwards of 350 of the best IDPA shooters to Springfield, Massachusetts to compete on the indoor ranges of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center.

For more information on IDPA, the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship or to join IDPA members competing each week all across America, visit www.IDPA.com.

Registration for the 2015 Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor Nationals will open early for shooters that have competed in the match within the last six (6) years. Registration will begin at 12:00pm EST on Saturday, December 6, 2014. IDPA members that have competed in the championship in one or more of the last six years will receive one (1) priority point for each year they participated in the match. Competitors can check their priority points ranking on the match registration site.

Online registration will begin at 12:00pm EST Saturday afternoon, December 6 and proceed as follows:

12:00pm – Registration opens for shooters with five and six (5 & 6) priority points 1:00pm – Registration opens for shooters with three and four (3 & 4) priority points 2:00pm – Registration opens for shooters with one and two (1 & 2) priority points 3:00pm – General registration opens for all remaining shooters

If you have NOT competed in any of the last six (6) matches, you register after 3:00pm.